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Final PHA

Passive Air Sampler Development

EPA is working to develop a passive air sampler that can be deployed in the investigation area. These samplers will be able to monitor the air for the herbicides of interest in the exposure investigation. The analytical phase of the air monitoring development is finished, and work is currently focused on estimating air concentrations of pesticides from the amounts extracted from the monitor filters. More information on the development of air monitoring methods will be available in the spring of 2015.

Background on air sampling development

On August 30, 2013, EPA was given an official ‘notice to proceed’. The overall budget for the project, not including EPA staff time, increased from the original estimate of $70,000 to $82,000. Extra funding was provided by EPA’s Office of Research & Development, through its National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL), because of the potential for advancing the ability to measure off-target movement of pesticide applications on a national scale. With NERL’s assistance, some of the technical hurdles were resolved, including the development of a single analytical technique that can detect the different classes of herbicides used in the investigation area. The project was delayed several weeks because of the 2013 federal government shutdown.